Conor Benn‘s world title shot against Ryan Garcia is fast approaching, and Tony Bellew is the latest to weigh in with his opinion.
When Benn steps into the ring on September 12, he will be facing the toughest opponent of his career so far. The Brit will also be back down at the welterweight limit of 147lbs for the first time since 2022, having moved up to a catchweight of 160lbs to twice fight Chris Eubank Jr in 2025.
The first fight ended in a points loss, while the second brought a revenge victory for Benn, who then went on to fight Regis Prograis earlier this year at another catchweight of 150lbs. Although he won on points, he failed to impose himself physically and was unable to stop the American.
The worry is that he will lack the power to keep Garcia at bay, and the American is a sharp-punching, quick-handed boxer who has shared the ring with the likes of Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney and Mario Barrios, who he beat for the WBC title earlier this year.
Speaking to Fight Your Corner, Bellew laid out what he thinks will be the biggest problem for Benn.
“With Garcia, it’s the left-hook that is the real power shot with him. My only issue with this fight is that you don’t know which Ryan Garcia is going to turn up. If the Ryan that got in with Rolly Romero turns up, that is going to lose, that is not going to be enough.
“I rate Rolly, as well, Rolly is a good fighter but is Ryan interested? Is he bothered? Mentally, I think that Ryan is all over the place and mentally, I think that Conor Benn is so strong.
“To get through what he went through for all them years, mentally, he is so, so strong. Garcia is the favourite and he is the overwhelming favourite because of the qualities and the fundamentals that he has; lightning speed and a vicious left-hook.”
The bout takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
